Neighbour’s complaint prompts order for removal, but an adjacent mural of Kanye West kissing himself will remain untouched

The mural of Kim Kardashian on Teggs Lane in Chippendale was painted by Melbourne street artist lushsux. The owner of the wall, who gave his permission for the artwork, was told by the City of Sydney on Tuesday he must remove it within 14 days.
Photograph: Steph Harmon for the Guardian

Amid the galleries, cafes and bars that dot Chippendale in Sydney, the newest large-scale artwork to adorn Zigi’s Art, Wine and Cheese bar is impossible to ignore. She arrived on Saturday and stands more than two stories tall on Teggs Lane: Kim Kardashian, nude and towering, covering her body with an arm and a hand as she brazenly stares down onlookers.

But if you want to see her, you’d better make it quick: the City of Sydney told the bar’s owner on Tuesday he has 14 days to remove it.

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As with anything branded Kardashian, you’ll either love or hate the artwork, which was painted by Melbourne street artist lushsux (who goes by the name Mark Walls) and based on a selfie the reality TV star posted this month. On the same day, Walls’s mural was joined by another, painted by Sydney artist Scott Marsh: Kardashian’s husband Kanye West, locked in a passionate embrace ... with himself.

Within minutes of completion, local and international media jumped to cover the artworks: nothing gets clicks quite like this couple, after all. “It attracts a lot of attention, and much like Kim I don’t seem to mind that too much,” Walls told Guardian Australia on Monday. “Anything that triggers someone to write an abusive epic rant in a comment section on the internet is good for business.”

However after the City of Sydney received a complaint from a neighbour who wasn’t consulted about the Kardashian artwork, the owner of the wall, Zigi Ozeri, was told it had to go. Ozeri had not submitted the necessary development application in advance, meaning he or the artist could also face a $3,000 fine.

The NSW government has recently come under fire for what critics call a “nanny state” approach to nightlife and creative culture, but the City of Sydney council says when it comes to street art, their policies are “common-sense”.

“Most new murals, including those commissioned by the City of Sydney, require development consent,” says a council spokeswoman. “This ensures the property owner consents to the mural and there is consultation with neighbours about what’s proposed.” The Kardashian mural, they say, was not preapproved, and a neighbour had complained about its “content and colour”.

Since being painted on Saturday,
lushsux’s Kim Kardashian portrait in Chippendale has already been tagged by another graffiti artist. Photograph: Steph Harmon for the Guardian

Zigi Ozeri opened Zigi’s four-and-a-half years ago, and has been offering his walls to artists since day one. He says he was “disappointed” by the council’s decision.

“The whole idea of what we do here is to support artists, and … just to make the lane livelier, rather than a dark, boring wall,” he says. “We want to see bright colours, we want to see beautiful art.”

Ozeri says he personally doesn’t find the Kardashian mural offensive. “It’s art, and it’s made by a quite famous artist that came all the way from Melbourne.” He says the complaint represents a “narrow-minded” approach to art; after all, the mural is no more risque than other Sydney street art. “[It’s because] she’s on the news, you know? ... Maybe [we should] put a bra and undies on her, and then see if Kim Kardashian still offends someone.”

Walls calls it a case of “classic Sydney”. “I guess a blank wall will soothe the souls of those who complained about it. Poor old Kim can’t catch a break.”

This isn’t the first time the artist has painted the reality TV star nude on such a large scale. Earlier this month, Walls furnished a wall in Cremorne, Melbourne with another of Kardashian’s naked selfies – a particularly controversial selfie, which caused an online uproar when Kardashian posted it to Instagram. (“If Kim wants us to see a part of her we’ve never seen, she’s gonna have to swallow the camera,” tweeted Bette Midler in response. Conservative commentator Piers Morgan added: “Want me to buy you some clothes?”)

“It was a bummer, but in a way it was also a given considering the subject matter,” Walls says. While his artwork attracted derision from some social media users, he says the local council “love it now”. It also got the tick of approval from Kardashian, who praised it on her website.

Walls says it was “like the queen of the internet knighted me”.

While Kim Kardashian might soon disappear, fans of painted memes won’t be disappointed by a visit to Zigi’s; a few steps along Teggs Lane is a large-scale portrait of her husband, Kanye West, locking lips with his own face. This one has so far received no complaints.

Painted on the same day by Sydney street artist Scott Marsh, the Photoshopped image it was based on began circulating over a year ago. A painting based on a meme based on a photograph is an inherently funny concept to Marsh (“I was laughing the whole time I was painting it!” he tells Guardian Australia) and the mural soon went viral.

“We thought maybe it might bounce around social media, but we definitely didn’t anticipate this much attention,” Marsh says. “I had friends in London calling me this morning and saying it was in the newspaper – I was like, ‘Jesus!’”

While the meme itself is a comment on Kanye’s infamous ego, Marsh is more generous to the hip-hop star. “I’m actually a huge fan of Kanye, I reckon he’s awesome – he’s a character, he’s super-talented,” he says. “You’ve got to have that – I guess it’s arrogance – but you’ve got to have it if you’re going to be successful on that kind of level. You’ve got to back yourself.”

Marsh says when it comes to large-scale muralists, his home country is ahead of the pack. “Australia has a huge amount of incredibly talented artists – especially for its size,” he says.

Marsh says it’s tricky being a street artist in Sydney. “In Melbourne it’s totally accepted, but in Sydney, it’s a little bit strange – some people hate it, some people like it,” he explains. “It’s a lot harder to get walls, and harder to get funding as well.”

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A City of Sydney spokeswoman tells Guardian Australia the council is “considering new guidelines for murals, street art and graffiti”. Sydney’s current policy on aerosol art and “graffiti-style murals” – which requires property owners submit a development application before each mural is painted – dates from 2006, when it was introduced as an interim measure. It can be costly and time-consuming for someone like Zigi Ozeri who changes murals every three to six months, sometimes without much warning. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the lord mayor, Clover Moore, said a new policy for unauthorised public art was “well under way” in December 2013 – but since then, no such policy has surfaced.

The City of Sydney spokeswoman says they are considering a few policy options, including establishing legal street art walls, finding new ways of managing unauthorised murals on private property, and protecting significant murals.

Ozeri is one wall owner who will welcome the change. “I believe City of Sydney council could be a little bit more flexible,” he says. “I do know that they support art and so forth, but not on every complaint are they required to come and take it down ... Unfortunately [with the Kardashian portrait] they leave me no choice; I just have to remove it.”